That was an excellent one.

Let's be realistic.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

T-Men is a wonderful film. Although Mann utilises many of the semi-documentary school's technical contrivances (the opening legend, authentic backgrounds, off-screen narration, tight editing) and much of its philosophic outlook (rugged hero, tight-lipped, unexpressive; refined villain, his voice carefully shaded to suggest every nuance of depraved elegance), he has yet managed to inject the film with a distinctly personal style. Our first indication that the picture is being directed by an unusually imaginative artist with both an expressive visual flair and the editing know-how to sustain it, comes in the restaurant scene where "The Schemer" makes contact with a photographer's girl. Instead of the usual flat establishing long shot with the hero walking up to the entrance, cut to the interior and pan, Anthony Mann has treated the sequence almost surrealistically; - with an opening shot of the restaurant's neon sign, rapid cut to its swinging door as O'Keefe strides through, tracking shot following the investigator into the interior - a confused medley of sight, sound and voices, - rapid pan as O'Keefe jostles his way to a telephone booth, closing the glass door so that a reflection of the whole dizzying scene swings into focus. Obviously, neither Hathaway, Keighley, nor any other of the semi-documentarists would have handled the scene this way, although heretofore it appeared that Mann was directing the film along established lines - or so it seemed at the time. On a recent re-viewing of the film, however, I found that even in earlier scenes, Mann had been more daring than Hathaway in his choice of low angles, longer takes (the first interview with the unctuous gang-leader, - beautifully composed and photographed), and the remarkable no-dialogue sequence where a tip-off is passed to a crooked detective in the locker-room of a Turkish bath; - an intensified use of natural sound taking the place of both dialogue and music. (As is usual in this type of film, the composer - here, Paul Sawtell - is relegated to providing a few bars for the brass section to play under the credits). There follows a wonderful montage of low-angled long shots as Treasury agents try to trace "The Schemer" through his known addiction to Oriental herbs.

Iconic Film-Noir from Director Anthony Mann with Incredible Impressionistic Cinematography from John Alton. At the Beginning of the Post-War entries in the Genre it set a Stylized Template that would be Imitated for Years.Not Enough can be said about the Alton Look of the Film. Silhouetted Darkness in front of Glaring Light gives the Impression of Another World Separated from but Linked to Reality in a Disturbing Dimension of a World Out of Sync. A Place of an Underworld that Preys Upon the Innocent.Included in this Ground-Breaker of a Movie are Dennis O'Keefe Dragging on a Cigarette throughout as a Tough as Nails Treasury Agent, Charles MaGraw as a Sweaty, Immoral Thug, and Wallace Ford as the "Schemer" a Pulp Name if there ever was one. Also, Not to be Denied and making an Impression as an Italian American is Alfred Ryder, very Convincing as an Every-Man doing His Bit for His Country.This is one of those that all Film-Noir are Compared. It is Definitive and Dramatic with some Hard Bitten Violence and Hard-Boiled Dialog. The Setting of the City is Unmistakably Noir and the Atmosphere is Chilling and Disturbing.The Opening where, in the Post-War World is another of those Contemporary Boasting that the Government, along with Dedicated Agents and the Latest Technology is a Force that is Leading the World Toward Democracy and Decency is a Flawed Pretension that is the Movie's Greatest Weakness. A Dated Technique that is a Bit Much for Modern Audiences.That this Jingoism can be Ignored and listed as Inconsequential in the end is a Testament to the Raw Power of the Film, which is so Substantial as to make the Lesser Parts Rendered Remote and can be Forgiven.This is Simply One of the Best of the Genre and Images from the Great John Alton Frame are Used Frequently to Illustrate the Look of Film-Noir.

Anthony Mann directed this thriller taken from a real life account of two treasury agents(played by Dennis O'Keefe & Alfred Ryder) who go undercover in a counterfeiting ring in order to bust it up, because it has been using dangerously high-quality paper that could fool the public and undermine the economy. They will learn though, that getting in the gang is one thing, but getting out alive quite another, especially when someone from your past recognizes you... Based on "The Shanghai Paper Case", film contains director Mann's usual flair for telling exciting and dramatic thrillers, giving lesser-known actors a chance to shine in leading parts.

T-Men might be one of the great film-noirs of the period- certainly a high point for Anthony Mann who already has Raw Deal as one of the masterpieces of the period- if only for one fatal flaw: the narration. While it would probably work well enough in a pulp magazine or wherever a story like this would turn up in print (it seems just about made for it, though despite the presence of the "real" treasury department officials it's fictional), the narrator, who comes off like an even more dead-pan version (and of course less subtly satirical) of the VO in the Killing, disrupts the flow of the story where it could be just excellent without it. Little things pop up that could be filmed just was well, finding out the clues and the details and not overrun with the ham-fisted voice of authority. If it was even done in shorter bits interspersed, fine. But as it is, it's the only big letdown of the movie, making it dated (at least more than usual).And yet, this doesn't detract from what should be a must-see for those who want to immerse themselves in a creative visual style. The team-up of Mann and his DP John Alcott was a match made in shadow-heaven, and their collaboration brings out such a strong style that it's hard to look away. This, plus the performances from Dennis O'Keefe, Wallace Ford, Charles McGrayw, make it a firecracker of a thriller, involving a story of two federal treasury agents out for a big sting with a nest of counterfeiters in Los Angeles and Detroit. When Man directs certain scenes, they pop like you want one of these 'old-school' hard boiled flicks to go. The violence actually isn't very cheap either, at least for the period, and it's a big bang where another director might've gone for the limp whimper. The villains are tough, but like any good soldier undercover the hand is always a little slicker, one step ahead. When it's at its best, T-Men is like the super-cool grandfather to the likes of the Departed.If only for the preachiness, and that stupid voice (who, apparently for good reason, is uncredited), I'd recommend it as whole-heartedly as Raw Deal. As it stands, it's still very good, with the kinds of double-crosses and moments of tension (i.e. the lead-up to the Schemer's demise) that rank with the finest the genre has. Bottom line, you're bound to find one or two of the compositions in T-Men right smack-dab in the examples of textbook film-noir lighting and design: maximum impact of B-movie reaching art. 8.5/10